Pennsylvania House Bill HB2163

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/28/26
• Refer: 1/28/26
• Refer: 3/24/26
• Report Pass: 3/25/26
• Engrossed: 3/25/26
• Refer: 3/30/26
• Refer: 4/21/26
• Report Pass: 4/21/26
• Enrolled: 5/5/26
• Chaptered: 5/6/26
• Passed: 5/6/26

Caption

Further providing for definitions, for general powers of the State Board of Dentistry, for penalties and for restricted faculty license.

Summary

HB2163 amends Pennsylvania’s Dental Law to broaden and clarify several aspects of dental practice and faculty licensing. The bill updates the definition of the “practice of dentistry” to expressly include practice under a restricted faculty license and extends the allowable duration of certain continuing education clinical courses from 20 days to one year, provided they are conducted under appropriate supervision in approved dental school facilities. It also revises the definition of restricted faculty license to cover teaching in dental school-owned or affiliated academic health care center facilities, and in advanced dental education programs at accredited dental schools in Pennsylvania. The bill also modernizes licensing standards for dentists, dental hygienists, and expanded function dental assistants by requiring individualized review of criminal convictions under Pennsylvania’s occupational licensing law. It preserves existing disqualification rules for certain drug-related felony convictions, but allows licensure after a waiting period and a showing of rehabilitation. For restricted faculty licensees, the bill expands qualifying training pathways to include certain international specialty or advanced clinical programs and allows practice only within specified educational or school-owned facilities, including dental school-owned faculty practices.

Impact

HB2163 would amend multiple sections of the Dental Law, affecting the State Board of Dentistry’s licensing authority, penalties for unauthorized practice by restricted faculty licensees, and the scope of permitted educational and faculty-based clinical practice. It would expand where restricted faculty licensees may teach and provide care, while also tightening the statutory framework around criminal history review by requiring individualized assessments under 63 Pa.C.S. § 3113. The bill primarily affects dentists, dental hygienists, expanded function dental assistants, dental schools, affiliated academic health care centers, and international-trained specialists seeking faculty roles in Pennsylvania.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It advanced unanimously in House committee votes and passed the House and Senate with large margins, indicating general agreement with its licensing and educational updates. The vote pattern suggests the measure was viewed as a technical or professional-regulatory update rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

The main policy issues appear to be the scope of restricted faculty practice and the treatment of applicants with criminal convictions. The bill expands faculty license eligibility and allows practice in additional school-affiliated settings, which may have prompted questions about oversight and the boundary between educational practice and general clinical practice. It also updates moral-character review to require individualized criminal history assessments, which can be a point of debate in occupational licensing, though the recorded votes show limited opposition. The Senate committee vote of 11-3 and Senate floor vote of 43-4 suggest some concern remained, likely around licensing standards or the expanded faculty practice provisions.